December 31, 2014

December 31st calls for the best of beauty looks. It’s that time of the year where you can be elegant, flirty, glamorous and vibrant. It’s your choice, and being the belle of the ball, can be yours with these New Year’s Eve beauty essentials, loved by the stars.

For this festive New Year’s Eve look, I have partnered up with Paula Dorf Cosmetics. These cosmetics have been seen in the latest issues of In Style, Allure, Harper's Bazaar and Elle and on celebrities including Jessica Simpson, Sandra Bullock, Debra Messing and Reneé Zellweger! And now you too can dazzle these looks loved by the stars, on New Year’s Eve.

Ring It In With Red: Bold lipsticks are a must this season. Plus, red lipsticks can reflect off your lips, helping your teeth to look brighter. And the Lip Color Cream Legend (in red) will do just that!

Dazzling Eyes: There is much more than just a sparkle in the eye for New Year’s Eve. Amaze them by creating a dramatic & sultry look with Paula Dorfs Smokey Eye Collection. This palette has all you need, with eye color glimmers to include, shades like marabou, twilight, fire dance, and midnight; the names say it all. Plus, it includes an eyeliner, to create that perfect cat eye that will take you late into the night. (the eyeliner can also be used as a lip liner as shown in above image) And don’t forget to finish it up your dazzling eye with mascara that is also included in the set.

Luminous Glow: You can achieve this with one product, the Eye Lite. This multifunctional product will give your skin an instant refreshed glow. It can be applied to the inner corner of eye, mixed into concealer for a luminous camouflage, and used to highlight the cheekbones, bridge of nose, under brows, or any place that needs a little lift.

Nail It This New Year’s Eve, with these Trio Nail Lacquers. They are vibrant and long lasting and perfect for this merry night.

So there you have it, looks from a dramatic smokey eye to a red lip that will sure to secure that midnight kiss. And to start the New Year off right, Paula Dorf is offering all of my readers 20% off any Lip Color Cream purchase. Just use code LIPCOLOR!

December 26, 2014

As most of you know, I am a big fan of skin care products. So to start the New Year off, I wanted to share with you some insider tips on how to achieve gorgeous skin. For the product element of this post, I have partnered up with InstaNatural. They are the leading online and global distributor of more than a dozen nature inspired beauty and cosmetics products. They are top sellers on Amazon and can also be found in leading spas, salons and aesthetic centers in the US, as well as internationally in UAE, UK and Canada (coming soon). They are constantly in search of wonderful natural and organic ingredients from the around the globe. Additionally, all of their products come with a 100% money-back guarantee, which is a plus for me. Lastly, all of the products that I've been using from them, can be worn under your makeup! Which is a must when is comes to a good skincare line. So without further ado, the insider tips on gorgeous skin.

Insiders Tip 1:It's Never To Early For Prevention. It is important for you to know, that as we get older, the number of days between our skin renewal cycles gets longer. Eventually, we need to use additional methods to remove the dead cells from the surface of our skin. Meanwhile, it is also important to repair the damage already done to our skin and prevent future harm.

Insiders Tip 2:Good Products. For this portion, InstaNatural sent me numerous items to consider for this. I have included 4 of them in this series.

The Products...

Toner: Natural’s Pore Tightening Vitamin C Facial Toner
This is an all-in-one hydrator infused with anti-aging ingredients to leave your skin feeling refreshed. The vitamin C, helps renew the skin by neutralizing free radicals and UV-related damage to protect and strengthen the epidermis. This product also has witch hazel in it, that is supposed to tighten the pores. All while the sulfur drives deep penetration of these ingredients to increase the skins elasticity. Using this product first helps to restore your face to its natural pH levels, enabling it to absorb any serums and moisturizers effectively.

How to use: Cleanse your skin first and let it dry. Then gently spray the toner over your entire face and neck. Allow to dry. Can be used daily as needed.

How to use: Dab gently around the eyes. Allow to dry. Use twice daily (morning and night) for best results. A Bonus...It can also be applied to entire face to fight against the signs of aging. YEAH!

Serum: InstaNatural’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum
This is a great natural hydrator that helps to soothe dry skin & tackles signs of aging by increasing firmness of the skin. This serum contains Hyaluronic Acid along with a perfect blend of antioxidants such as Vitamin C, Jojoba Oil and Green Tea. One thing I really liked about this product is that it does not contain alcohol or parabens.

How to use: Apply a small amount of serum to distribute to your entire face, neck and surrounding area. Allow to dry. Can be used daily (morning & night) and under make up.

Moisturizer: Age Defining MoisturizerInstaNatural’s Youth Express Age-Defying Moisturizer contains some of the most medically advanced and clinically proven ingredients available. This specialized formula of ingredients delivers nourishment to help hydrate and plump the skin to improve texture, tone, and reduces dryness. This product is 98% natural & it is paraben free.

How to use: Apply onto face, neck and surrounding area after cleansing and toning. For sensitive skin, use only at night.Caution: This product contains an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that may increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun and particularly the possibility of sunburn. Use a sunscreen and limit sun exposure while using this product and for a week after you discontinue use. Product contains tree nuts. If you suspect an allergic reaction, discontinue use and consult your physician.

Insiders Tip 3:Layering. The order in which you apply your products can have an impact on the results. This is why I am a strong believer in layering your skin care products. Make sure you start with a clean face. You then want to apply your thinnest products first, in this case the anti-oxidant (the vitamin C toner), next add the serum. then seal it with a moisturizer, lastly add an SPF.

Insiders Tip 4:Starting Off Right. To help the process along, I always recommend to start with a clean face. But keep in mind washing your face too much with harsh chemicals can actually dry your skin out, which can lead to premature wrinkles. Exfoliating your skin will allow your products to better absorb, leaving you with better looking skin. For safe exfoliation & NON CHEMICAL makeup removal I recommend the makeup eraser.

Insiders Tip 5:Baby Steps. You want to start off using a small amount to see how your skin will react. Maintenance and repairing skincare products can cause breakouts in the beginning, as they are removing toxins and more! After a few weeks of use, your skin should adjust and this should dissipate. If you start to see some more irritation than you'd like, you can always start with a moisturizer first. However, if you do this you will reduce the potency of the products you apply after.

Insiders Tip 6: Maximizing Your Skincare. On the opposite end, if you want to maximize the results apply to your wet skin.

Insiders Tip 7: Expectations. I do want to stress, as with all skincare products, results DO vary with each person. So whether you're looking to purify, regenerate, defend, restore, restructure or all of the above, you have to have a plan. Additionally, you need to understand what each product is for and how they are used. Otherwise you will fail before you start!

So there you have it beauties...7 Insider Tips On Gorgeous Skin For The New Year!

December 18, 2014

Lipstick is an amazing product to have in your makeup arsenal. But selecting the best color can be a daunting task. So today I’m going to give you some pointers on picking the correct lip color in 3 easy steps.

Step 1: Know What Color Looks Best With Your Skin Tone:

Fair Skin Tones: This skin tone is a bit tricky as colors that are too pale can wash you out and colors that are too dark can be contrasting with your skin. Hence, you want to stick to brighter colors as well as colors like plum reds, or even browns, can work.

Medium/ Olive Skin Tones: This one is the easiest to work with. You can use nudes, oranges, reds or pinks.

Darker Skin Tones: You want to stick to deeper lipstick colors if you have this skin tone. I’ve found that plums, reds and coffee browns work best.

Step 2: Know Your Undertone:

Yellow Undertones: WARM

2 Colors that look best: Orangish reds and bronze colors.

Colors to stay away from: Colors with a purple undertone as they can bring out the yellow is your skin!

Pink/Red Undertones: COOL

For a darker color, try a brick red & for a lighter color try a coral shade.

Colors to stay away from: Blue-based reds.

**Nudes are flattering on almost all skin typesStep 3: Try Before You Buy:

Lipstick is one makeup item that you really need to try on, as one color may look awesome on one person and horrible on another. Also, what a color may look like in the tube isn’t always the color it appears on your lips. While they say testing a lip color on your finger is best, as it is closest to your lip color, it can really be a pain in the butt. So what is my solution? GlamSt. It is a virtual makeup tester that has made it fun & liptastic! When I was going through the process of trying on different colors, I was really able to see what shades were flattering on my model and what colors were not. (you can see these below)

About GlamST: It is an app for iOS that allows you to
discover new
makeup by choosing the makeup you love and trying makeup on your photo.
You can
freely experiment from the comfort of your phone, and try on all the
lipstick you want. Simply snap a
selfie, choose your style and see which lipstick you like the best.
Also, if you found a color you like, it can be purchased right from Sephora with the
app that is now NOW available!

Lights, Curl, Action! No more worries, as there is now a fool proof way to curl your hair and you don't have to be a pro to do it!

Yes, you read right. I was excited when I got a chance to review the revolutionary KISS InstaWave as I am a big fan of curled hair! However no matter how proficient you are
at curling your hair, it takes time, but not any longer. The KISS InstaWave is a fully automatic tangle-free curler, that will help you to create curls with ease and most important, QUICKLY!

Now you may recognize the KISS brand as they have been one of the global leaders in the nail care industry for a while. But they have expanded their line to include a vast array of beauty care products, including hair
appliances at consumer
friendly prices.

So how does this bad boy work? As I mentioned it is fool proof as you can use it from any angle with options to create different looks by alternating the curl patterns (inward
curls & outward curls), by using the direction switch (see image below of the InstaWAVE). You can also create different types of curls. For example, you can create a tight curl or loose beach wave curl, all by the length of time you keep the hair around the barrel.

How To Use:

There is a high & low temperature setting (Max temperature is 420 Degrees). If you want tighter curls set it on high, looser set on low.

When the red light turns to blue you are ready to curl. (There is an automatic shut off in 90 minutes).

Section off the hair to curl.

Hold the InstaWave in a diagonal up-right position and place 1 to 2 inches of hair onto curler.

Press the button to instantly catch hair and rotate the barrel. You can press the button left or right, depending on the direction you want your hair to curl.

Two Different Days Of Use

For an outer curl, you want to place the hair outside the barrel. For an inner curl you want to place your hair behind the barrel.

You want to hold the button until hair is fully around barrel, then release the button. and hold in place. IMPORTANT: I've seen a few girls try this out on YouTube and they don't release. You will not achieve a curl if you continuously let the barrel rotate. Once all the hair is completely around the barrel, release the button!

Allow the barrel to heat the hair for 3 to 10 seconds (time depends on style of curl and hair type).

Keeping the curl intact, pull the InstaWave gently downward to release the hair.

A bonus tip from me: My curling tip is you always curl with heat & set with cool. To set the curl, keep the curl intact & place it in your hand. Zap with some cool air from the hair dryer.

Loose Curls Created

Tangle Free, yes it is. I tested this on my hair and on my clip in hair extensions, in which neither tangled. I also tried this on one of my clients, who has more permanent extensions and hers did not tangle either.

IMPORTANT: If you are like me, where you do not wash your hair everyday and just like to do some minor touch-ups for a few days. You want to make sure that you brush out your hair, prior to curling. Otherwise, your hair will not curl correctly.

Lastly, where can you purchase one of these? You can get one at Target, Ulta and Drugstore.com. So there you have, The Fool Proof Way To Curl Your Hair!

December 12, 2014

The Holidays are right around the corner and if you have teen girls that are big fans of the band One Direction, do I have some great gift ideas for you!

I have once again partnered up with Markwins Beauty, to bring to you, One Directions newest makeup collections. These items were released on November 15th, just in time to fill up your teens stockings! Now if this is the first time to my site you may be thinking, what does this 5 member boy band from England know about makeup? Well surprisingly they know a lot! The Makeup from One Direction is fun, bold, often irreverent, with a touch of cheeky mischievousness. And they are priced to fit right into your Christmas budget!

From lashes to nails, these prestige makeup sets are a great way to add some shimmer & sparkle to the holiday season. Please see below these limited edition sets.

First Up Is…ELECTRO GLAM MASCARA. She can give her look a jolt of electric color, with this limited-edition trio of ultra-bold colored mascaras that can be used on her hair or her eyelashes.

FOR LASHES- She can make a subtle statement by adding a pop of color to the tips of her lashes, or add coats to the entire lashes for a shockingly chic look!

AS A HAIR MASCARA- This can be applied to small sections of hair and swiped through for instant ELECTRIC highlights. I tested them all but the photo pictured features the...Why Don't We Go There (the blue) & Story Of My Life (yellow).

Liquilights Glow Gloss sparkles brilliantly during the day and illuminates under UV black light after dark. Enriched with natural oils and vitamin E to keep the lips soft and hydrated. These glosses can be worn alone for a pop of sparkle & shimmer or over top of another lipstick for a bolder more festive look.

To get the impact of the color, I’ve swatched them on my hand… The color "Kiss You" you can see on my lips & you'll notice that she can do a light coat if she chooses.

Colors

Through the Dark- Electric glitter poppy lip gloss that glows to neon red-orange under UV light.

Last Item For The Teen On Your Holiday List; A Nail Polish Set…ROCK ME NAIL KIT

ROCK ME NAIL KIT, features 3 NEON UV-REACTIVE Nail Varnishes and 3 UV-REACTIVE GLITTER nail toppings that add even more sizzle to a mani. Sprinkle the glitter over wet polish for a subtle accent, or go for the glitz and dip the entire wet mani in mega-watt sparkle!

December 7, 2014

Trying BOLD lipsticks can sometimes be a bit scary. But with Christmas right around the corner, these bold colors fit right in. So why not give it a try, beauties? Test on as many as you like and if you don’t like it…try another, and did I mention for FREE? Yes, that is right. You can test all the lipsticks you want from the convenience of your iPhone or IPAD. With GlamST iOS App; the first virtual makeup tester app, it’s a lipsticks lover’s dream come true. Simply snap a selfie and upload it, choose your style and try on all the bold lipsticks you want!

Want to sport your BOLD LIPSTICK in real life? Well, now you can by following my few steps below to mastering the bold lipstick. I will take you from boring balm to bold and beautiful in 5 easy steps!

Step 1: Prep your lips, with exfoliation and moisturizer: Dry, chapped lips are not attractive, and bold colors will intensify them. So to remove the excess dead skin you want to exfoliate your lips. You can do this with tarte Maracuja Lip Exfoliant. This skin-softening scrub sloughs away dryness and replenishes providing instant hydration.

Step 2: A lip primer: You can use a concealer for this instead of going out and purchasing yet another primer. You want to use a brightening concealer on your lips. This will help to brighten the area, as well as to make some of the lines less noticeable. Furthermore, it will help intensive the color and help it to last longer. If you are in a pinch, you can also use foundation. However, you’ll be missing the brightening aspect. The product I like, and it is only $1 is e.l.f essential Shimmering Facial Whip.

Step 3: Lipliner: Yeah, I know when you hear this, you think of the 80’s. But they are great, as lip liners intensify the color, making it more durable. How To Use: Apply the lip liner in the cupids bow area by creating an X and work outwards tracing the outer parts of your mouth. Finish by blending it into the entire lip. You want to make sure that the heaviest area is in the center of the lips. You are building a base for your bold lipstick. In the image above I, used a Nars lipliner.

Step 4: Application: For Bold lipstick, you want to make sure that select the right type. I prefer to have a creamy lipstick that has some moisturizer when doing a bold lip. So how to apply? The way to get the best look is to apply with a lipstick brush. Using a brush will penetrate the lip color deeper into the lip helping to build and achieve a pigmented application.

Step 5:Blot: This is one of my LIPtastic tricks! When you go to
blot your lips you need to use oil blotting papers, not a tissue!When
to blot? You want to start right
after you apply the first layer of lipstick, as this is going to help to remove
any excess oils from all the stuff you’ve applied to your lips.Leaving you
with just the pigment (Kind of like a lip stain)…then apply the second
coat.

December 5, 2014

Disclaimer:This is a sponsored post on behalf of Billion Dollar Brows.

Views expressed were not influenced in
anyway.

With my "BOW TO THE BROW" Series, I was able to bring you an entire month of ways to achieve beautiful brows! Well today, I am going to end this series with a chance for you to treat yourself to the gift of beautiful brows.

For this giveaway I have partnered up with Billion Dollar Brows. Billion Dollar Brows is the only cosmetic company that is solely dedicated to eyebrow health and beauty.

For those of you who have followed this series, you have seen the importance of brow maintenance. A great eyebrow, is similar to a great frame that can take an ordinary picture to a different level. You should view your eyebrows as such. Great looking eyebrows can form a frame around your eyes taking them from Boring Brow to Brow-tastic in a matter of minutes.

The bottom line with this "BOW TO THE BROW" Series, is no matter what product you use on your eyebrows, it is in ADDITION to your eyebrow maintenance. Getting them threaded, plucked or waxed is NOT enough. That is like getting your hair cut but never styling it, you need to take your brows to the next level this holiday season, and Billion Dollar Brows can help you do that!

With that being said, Billion Dollar Brows is proud to offer their bestselling Universal Brow Pencil, Brow Duo Highlighter, Brow Gel and Smudge Brush PLUS a bonus gift of a custom designed pencil sharpener in an amazing holiday gift set, which can all be yours!

If you aren’t one of the lucky ones who wins this. Don’t worry as you
can purchase this set for only $34.99. And if that wasn’t enough, I am
going to share with you, my 5 tips to beautiful brows this holiday!

Step 1: Apply Brow Pencil

Product: Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil - This universal pencil is a self-sharpening pencil which goes on smooth and natural for all hair colors and skin tones.

Start by taking the pencil & twisting the tip up slightly and get ready to define your brows.

How To: I always use the eyebrow mapping approach with 3 dots, when using an eyebrow pencil. (See image to the right)

First Dot: Go to the corner of your eye, closest to the nose to measure the starting point of your eyebrow. Place the universal brow pencil vertically from the inner corner of your nose to the inner corner of your eye... Place a dot here indicating the start of your eyebrow.

Second Dot: The Arch: Align the pencil horizontally from the tip of your nose to the outside center of your pupil or the middle your brow bone, place a dot. This is the arch & the highest point of your eyebrow, so keep this in mind when placing the dot.

Third Dot: The End: Align the pencil from the outer corner of your nostril to the corner of your brow to place your final mark.

Once you have completed, you want to connect the dots and fill in the brow with tiny strokes; think of tiny hairs when applying the pencil. And always make sure to twist the pencil back down after using to ensure longevity of the pencil.

Step 2: Blending

Using brush (located on the other end of the brow pencil) blend the pencil into your brow hairs. IMPORTANT: You want your brows to look natural, so you want gently brush the brow hairs upwards into place.

Step 3:HighlightProduct: Brow Duo Highlighter - This was a great bonus to get this. I really liked that it has both a highlighter and concealer! Brow Duo highlighter gives you an instant eyebrow lift. Perfect for most skin tones. It allows you to highlight your brow bone, and for those quick needed touch-ups, the universal concealer comes in quite handy!

How To Use: Apply a line of the highlighter under your brow following your arch as well as above the arch, with two small dots.(see image above)

Clean Up: The concealer end, can be use to clean up any mistakes you've made!

Step 4: Apply & Blend

Product: Smudge Brush-This synthetic straight edge brush is great for applying creamy products, like the highlighter.

How To Use: Gently blend the highlighter into your skin and the brow line to frame & define!

Step 5: Set

Product: Brow Gel Clear - The finishing touch for giving your brows a polished, manicured look. This gel will allow you to seal the deal so to speak, by locking in your look, keeping your brows perfectly in place all day.

How To Use: Apply the wand applicator over the pencil creating the perfect brow.

And now the chance for you to give yourself the gift of beautiful brows this holiday season... Enter to win below.

December 4, 2014

CONTEST is Over. However, You CAN Still Register To Win A Sephora Gift Card. Simply become a Beauty Club Member & you'll be entered for your chance. Enter Here

Over 40 Beauty Bloggers, from the Beauty Blogazons, have brought you a chance to kick this holiday season off right. With a $350 Gift Card...click below to register to win. MAKE SURE to join the BEAUTY CLUB. It is the last entry, as you will get an extra bonus; a chance to also win a Gift Card from Sephora when you become a member!

Good Luck and Happy Holidays Beauties! And don't forget to leave a comment below & let me know what you would do with the $350 gift card if you won it.

November 28, 2014

Makeup is my addiction. I'm always searching for new eye
shadows, the next best mascara and more! However, this addiction can be expensive
if I had to purchase everything to see whether or not I liked it.But what if I told you that there is a way to
test all kinds of name brand makeup, from the convenience of your phone. Well, there is with the GlamST iOS App; the first virtual makeup tester, it’s a makeup lover’s
dream come true.

GlamST is an app for iOS that allows you to discover new
makeup by choosing the styles you love and trying makeup on your photo. You can
freely experiment from the comfort of your phone, try on makeup by snapping a
selfie, choosing your style and seeing how makeup would really look on your
face. The iOS app is NOW available, and it is awesome! Just in time to get all the makeup you need for the holiday & Cyber Monday Sales at Sephora!

So how do you test out these products? Check out the video
below so you too can be on your way to the perfect selfie! And don't forget to download the GlamST app NOW!

Compatibility:Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.